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David Knaak

Professor Timmons

English 321

6 October 2019

Essay Question #1

Motives to Commit Evil in Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, undergoes a unique

transformation from hero to villain. While returning from war as a celebrated and faithful soldier

of the crown, he is confronted by three apparitional witches who prophesize his ascendancy to

the throne. Baffled by this event, Macbeth obsesses over the prophecy and begins creating a

scheme to assassinate the king with the assistance of his wife. Macbeth’s scheme eventually

becomes a reality: he kills the king, Duncan, and thereby completes his transformation into

villain by crossing what Stephen Greenblatt terms “the fatal line from criminal desire to criminal

act” (Greenblatt). In addition to this unique transformation, Macbeth also comes to occupy a

distinctive place in Shakespeare’s panoply of villains because he “is tormented by an awareness

of the wickedness oh what he is doing” (Greenblatt). His choice mystifies him but, as the play

unfolds, his motives become evident as he chooses to continually commit evil. Macbeth

consciously chooses to commit evil because he resigns himself to the unbridled forces of fate and

ambition.

One of the primary forces that motivates Macbeth to commit evil is the force of fate. This

force is expressed through the prophecy of the witches, who imply that Macbeth is destined to

become king: “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.51). Macbeth is initially

confused by the prophecy and questions the authority of their strange intelligence (1.3.77).
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However, before he receives an answer, the witches vanish and leave Macbeth to ponder his

destiny alone. He attempts to discuss the event with his wife, who only affirms that “fate and

metaphysical aid doth seem / To have thee crowned withal” (1.5.27-28). As a result, Macbeth

convinces himself that he must commit evil in order to ascend to the throne. Thus, the stage is set

for Macbeth to succumb to his fate of murdering King Duncan. As a last confirmation of his own

destiny, a bell rings out shortly before the murder occurs. Macbeth acknowledges the bell and

proclaims that it “invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell / That summons thee to

heaven or to hell” (2.1.63-65).

Macbeth’s evil strikes and rumbles like the lightning and thunder that heralds the

appearance of the witches. The actualization of his own destiny creates instability in the kingdom

and threatens to turn the seas incarnadine from unending bloodshed (2.2.64-66). Macbeth’s

resignation to the force of fate has simultaneously given him a sort of power over fate and he

begins to believe that he is impervious when the witches prophesize that “none of woman born /

Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.79-80). However, when Macbeth is later confronted by Macduff, it

becomes apparent that this same force will also lead to his own destruction. Having been ripped

from his mother during birth, Macduff is able to harm Macbeth and chops off his head in the heat

of battle. This scene complicates the audience’s understanding of fate and is one of the reasons

why Stephen Greenblatt argues that the “whole play is haunted by equivocation” (Greenblatt).

Life, both inside and outside of the play, certainly has a deterministic element. It is also a

strange, interwoven experience of conflicting, ambiguous forces. Where fate may favor an

individual like Macbeth in one moment, it may also favor an individual like Macduff in the next.

At the end of the play, fate favors Malcolm and he reclaims the throne for his family. However,

as the play ends, the audience is left with one final, unrealized prophecy: Banquo’s children have
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yet to claim the throne as theirs. This suggests that the story of Macbeth is an allegorical

representation of the unending cycle of fate: a cycle that both empowers and disenfranchises

people, and a cycle where “fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.11).

The other primary force that motivates Macbeth to commit evil is the force of ambition.

This force is realized in his interactions with his wife. While contemplating the ramifications of

the realization of his destiny, Macbeth recognizes the spiritual impact of murdering King Duncan

and states that his virtues “Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation

of his taking-off” (1.7.16-20). Armed with this revelation, Macbeth confronts his wife and

attempts to convince her that his ambition has been satiated by his war victories and the

subsequent honors from his king. However, Lady Macbeth remains dubious and chidingly

responds: “Art thou afeared / To be the same in thine own act and valor / As thou art in desire?”

(1.7.39-41). Lady Macbeth, like Macbeth himself, understands that he is the limiting agent of his

own ambition. However, unlike Macbeth, she disregards the spiritual impacts of exercising

unbridled ambition. In the face of her conviction, he flimsily attempts to counter with the

possibility of failure. Lady Macbeth remains undaunted and challenges him to have the courage

to overlook failure. Her message resonates with Macbeth and he eventually succumbs. In a final

acknowledgement of his defeat against his own ambition, Macbeth confesses that “I am settled

and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat” (1.7.79-80).

Like nature, the force of ambition is fraught with ambiguity. Ambition can elevate the

accomplishments of men to mythological levels, such as in Act I when Macbeth’s prowess as a

warrior is compared to that of the husband of Bellona, the Roman goddess of war (1.2.56-59).

Ambition can also exist without impetus, which Macbeth acknowledges when he realizes that his

ambition to kill King Duncan has “no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting
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ambition, which o’erleaps itself” (1.7.25-28). While Macbeth’s ambition certainly exists in both

realms throughout the play, it is the gradual unbridling of his ambition that prompts him to

continue to commit even more evil. In particular, the witches and Lady Macbeth are instrumental

in this unbridling because they act like psychological mirrors. As his convictions dissolve and his

reflection becomes more distinct, Macbeth’s ambition drives him to kill innocent women and

children during the assault on Macduff’s castle (4.3.204-205). In the wake of his ambition

though, he loses people who are very close and meaningful to him, such as Banquo, King

Duncan, and Lady Macbeth herself. Near the end of the play, he is left alone and staring at the

monster he has transformed into. Ultimately, Macbeth’s unbridled ambition leads to his

downfall, making all of his actions meaningless and turning his life into “a tale / Told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing” (5.5.26-28).

Though both of these forces have been examined separately, it is important to note that,

combined, they both act in unison to compel Macbeth to commit evil. Macbeth convinces

himself that both forces of fate and ambition have determined his future. As a result, these forces

become unbridled and he justifies his evil through their realization. Though Macbeth is a

fictional character, he explores the very real experience of entertaining thoughts and fantasies of

committing evil upon other people. However, Macbeth’s fantasies merge with reality and

complex cycles of cause and effect are set in motion. In some ways, the phanstamic dagger that

haunts Macbeth throughout the play is symbolic of how dangerous our own evil thoughts can

become. These daggers of the mind can be played with and twirled around our fingers, but when

they are directed at and stuck into other people in reality, evil becomes actualized.
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Works Cited

Greenblatt, Stephen. “Macbeth Introduction.” The Norton Shakespeare, Ed. Stephen Greenblatt,

third ed., E-book, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Norton Shakespeare, Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, third ed.,

E-book, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.